Using filmmaking to engage students with communities

Foucault referred to the authoritative ‘gaze’ that can objectify the users of public services and which continues to promote heroic narratives in many areas of professional practice by casting them in a passive role. In the UK, there has been a distinctive and growing discourse about the use and abuse of embedded ‘welfare’ system and within key professions there has been a number of ethical dilemmas and barriers in the quest for community engagement. Working within austerity and tight eligibility criteria has to some extent reinforced individualised pathologies about the causes of social problems and their potential solutions. Generating and exploring counter discourses which promote alternative and more challenging perspectives at an early stage in professional education is crucial to encourage students to think more actively about forging partnerships and co-production.
This paper shares our experiences of using filmmaking with first year students on the BA (Hons) Social Work where the process of reaching out to communities through a different medium build in opportunities for students to be more active and open in their search for approaches and interventions which build on the strengths of communities. Students work in small groups to investigate an everyday issue in the community and alongside a range of suggested community project work, generate a short 3–5-minute film which represents different ways of seeing and capturing a range of perspectives on their selected issues. This co-learning approach is also supported by a team of tutors; a service user and graduate student who model the skills required as well as provide peer feedback for students to reflect upon, using double loops of learning experiences. Our presentation will draw on some of the student's evaluation which documents the value of such experiential learning and some of the achievements and challenges in its first year including demonstration of one of the student group films.